Dog Anxiety: Top 10 Tips to Calm an Anxious Dog
10 Tips to Calm an Anxious Dog
1. Exercise your Dog
Exercising in a regular basis is probably the most important activity pet owners can do to treat their dogs anxiety. Exercises stimulates mental and physicall well-being which leads to less likely destructive and anxious behaviors. Making sure you take care of your dog's health is definetely number one in the list and if you are not doing this you should start TODAY!
2. CBD Oil
Taking the second spot in our list is CBD Oil for dogs .There is a lot of hype and missinformation about CBD Oil, but if something is real, is that CBD works extremely well to treat anxiety. CBD Oil binds and activates the serotonin receptors in your dog's nervous system resulting in a calming and mood-boosting effect. Wether your dog suffers from general, thunderstorm, or separation anxiety, CBD Oil will work wonders for him/her.
If you haven't tried it, we highly recommend trying CBD Oil to calm your anxious dog :)
3. Obedience Training
Obedience training is a MUST do or try to control your dog's anxiety. It is the foundation of a healthy relationship between you and your dog. A well-trained dog is easier to socialize than a dog without training, and obedience classes are a great place for dogs to meet other dogs in a controlled environment.
4. Calming Treats
Calming Treats are very popular among dog owners and more and more pet pawrents are turning into this delicious treats to relief their dogs anxius behavior. Popular calming treats such as Petals and Tails CBD treats, contain a combination of powerful ingredients such as CBD, hemp, ginger, and passion flower to keep your dog calm and healthy.
5. Music Therapy
Music therapy has been proven reduce anxiety in dogs. The power of music can be calming and relaxing while you’re home, in the car, or away from your pet. Music can also alleviate noise sensitivity by blocking the street or scary noises that bother some dogs and create anxiety. If you haven't tried this, this is an easy tip to try.
Research has shown that many dogs prefer classical music, and studies have shown a correlation between less anxious dog behavior and classical music. Here is a popular relaxing dog music compilation your dog may like:
6. Anxiety Medications
Sixth on the list we have anxiety Medications.
There are 2 main reasons why we don't recommend anxiety medications as the go to option for pet pawrents. Number one, anxiety medications should only be taken for severe and serious anxiety disorders and must be prescribed by veterinarians. And second, anxiety medications for dogs may have secondary effects on your dog's health, they could damage their liver or cause naussea.
The most popular medications are benzodiazepine and selegiline. Both require prescriptions and could be expensive.
7. Vet recommended essential oils
Essential oils can be toxic if ingested, so never apply essential oils directly to your pet. However, your dog can still benefit from aromatherapy if used properly in a household without cats.
Lavender oil is among the most popular ancient remedies for natural dog anxiety relief. A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association showed that it can be effective for dogs with a history of travel anxiety before a long car ride. It’s available over-the-counter, and it’s typically innocuous when lightly applied to fabric.
Your veterinarian can give recommendations for the type of oils to use, how much to use and the proper procedure for administration. A recommendation is to put a couple of drops on a towel or blanket and let your dog rest on it.
8. Counterconditioning
The purpose of counterconditioning is to change your dog’s response to the stimuli responsible for anxiety, usually by replacing the anxious or aggressive behavior with a more desirable behavior, like sitting or focusing on the owner. Also, you may try exposing your dog to the stimuli causing anxiety and then rewarding your dog when responding with a positive behavior.
9. Pheromones
Dog pheromone products are synthetic versions of a chemical compound naturally secreted by lactating mother dogs during nursing. These are odorless but are detected by a dog’s vomeronasal organ, which is connected not only to the olfactory system (your dog’s sense of smell), but also to the amygdala and hypothalamus — important parts of a dog’s brain that affect behavior and nervous system reactions.
There have been a few studies done that look at the effectiveness of using pheromones for a variety of uses, from puppy socialization and learning to different types of canine anxiety. Results have been mostly positive, although not necessarily consistent between different uses.
10. Change their food
Lastly we have Food and Nutrition. Nowadays, most dog pawrents are conscious on what their fur babies eat, but if you haven't paid much attention on your dogs food or are giving him cheap/ low quality food try switching into a higher protein and more balanced meal. Sometimes although rare, your dog may present anxiety symptons if their body does not have the proper nutrients it needs.